"The new book by Professor Bina places the trade in and production of
petroleum into their global context, and relates them to changing
conditions of political power at the international level. One need not
be an expert to understand and appreciate the important arguments in
this book." - John Weeks, Professor Emeritus of Economics, University of
London, UK

"This is a groundbreaking volume of theory and strategy on
political economy and polity of the twenty-first century, which unites domains
of economics, politics, international relations, and the environment in an
organic whole. Distilled in concrete terms, it elucidates the enigma of oil in
view of the centrality of global social relations and with respect to two major
exigencies of our time, namely, world peace, and defense of our ecosystem. A Prelude to the Foundation of Political Economy also
highlights the need for detachment of US foreign policy from dependence on oil,
to reveal rather vividly the illusion of America's power and leadership. This
book is a wakeup call to the altered reality in which we live."

"Cyrus Bina is Distinguished Research Professor of Economics at the
University of Minnesota (Morris Campus), USA. He is the author and
co-editor of several scholarly books, including The Economics of the Oil Crisis, Oil: A Time Machine, and Alternative Theories of Competition: Challenges to the Orthodoxy;
and has written more than two hundred scholarly and policy pieces. He
has also spoken extensively to the international media on issues
pertinent to global sea change. He is currently editing a three-volume
work entitled International Economics: An Encyclopedia of Global Trade, Capital, Labor, Technology, and Innovation. Bina is a fellow of Economists for Peace and Security, and an editor for the Journal of Critical Studies in Business and Society."

The Glass Roundtable Series is
organized by Lise McKean in collaboration with Chicago artists who participated
in StreamLines, a recent exhibition in India of contemporary art that she
curated—and others involved with Chicago arts and social justice organizations.

An stunning tapestry....

The Glass Roundtable Series is
inspired by the Goshka Macuga exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art inChicago. Her work includes a large doughnut-shaped glass-topped table that
seats 16 people. To animate the piece, MCA is allowing anyone to reserve the
table for meetings that are held right in the gallery while the public is
coming and going.

A long time ago, those in power resolved their intolerance of
"comedians" by banishing them from the country. Today, actors and
theater companies have trouble finding public spaces, theaters and
audiences—everything because of the crisis.
Therefore, rulers no longer worry about controlling those who express
themselves with irony and sarcasm, since there are no longer places for
the actors to perform or spectators to perform for.
In contrast, during the Renaissance, those in power had to struggle to keep comedians, who enjoyed a wide public, at bay.
It’s commonly known that the greatest exodus of comedians happened
during the century of the Counter-Reformation, which upheld the
dismantling of all theater spaces, especially in Rome, where their
existence outraged the Holy City.
In 1697, under harassing demands from the most reactionary part of
the bourgeoisie and the leading clergy, Pope Innocent XII ordered the
elimination of the Tordinona Theater, whose stage, according to the
moralists, was accountable for the greatest number of obscene
performances.
At the time of the Counter-Reformation, Cardinal Carlo Borromeo,
serving in the north of Italy, committed himself to the redemption of
the "children of Milan," establishing a clear distinction between
art—the highest form of spiritual education, and theater—the lowest
expression of profanity and vanity. In a letter addressed to his
collaborators, which I quote by heart, he stated more or less as
follows:

While eradicating the evil weed, we
had done our utmost to burn texts containing infamous speeches, to
eradicate them from human memory, and at the same time prosecute those
who spread such texts in print. But even as we sleep, the Devil works
with renewed trickery. How far more penetrating to the soul than what
the eyes can see! How far more devastating to the minds of boys and
young girls is the spoken word, with appropriate voice and gesture, than
a dead word in a book. It is therefore as critical for us to rid our
cities of performers as we would do with unwanted souls.

Therefore, the only way out of this crisis is to hope that a great
hunt will be organized against us, especially against the young people
who want to learn the art of theater: a new Diaspora of comedians, who,
from such an imposition, will undoubtedly reap unimaginable benefits
from a new kind of performance.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

This morning, cardinals were singing again in the freezing, windy weather of Chicago! On the slippery, icy sidewalks, the roaring wind ruthlessly slapped our face...under the beautiful, bright sunshine!
Sun...How empathetic you are!
Tomorrow will be colder! But I know the cardinals will sing again,
On top of the oak trees!